A young couple, meet, fall in love, marry but instead of living happily ever after , Callum , the naive husband finds himself in the depths of a nightmare which only gets worse. Lea his wife, a successful career woman is living a secret dangerous life of which he is totally oblivious until her past catches up with her drawing him into the depths of grief from which he becomes embroiled in a cat and mouse hunt with no idea who or what is the reason for the increasing body count following him and his precarious situation. A often frustrating read in that we the reader can never be remotely sure who are the perpetrators and who the innocent , all embroiled in a mystery that leaves Callum the innocent protagonist running and fighting for his life. An exciting if bloody conclusion with no happy ever after ending if delivering a satisfying answer to the many questions raised.

I’ve been a fan of Rob Sinclair’s thrillers for a while now and having followed several of his other series, I was looking forward to seeing what he’d do with a fresh standalone story. This one introduces us to Callum Murphy, a regular guy whose life is turned upside down when he's told his wife, Lea, has died in an accident. But that's just the start of it – he soon finds out she wasn't the corporate consultant he thought she was but an MI6 agent with some very dangerous secrets. The story is told using a dual timeline which I thought worked really well. We get to see Callum in the present day, desperately trying to piece together the truth while being hunted across Europe, mixed with flashbacks from Lea's perspective. It was fascinating to see the contrast between Callum’s "normal" life and the gritty, high-stakes world Lea was actually living in. It definitely makes you wonder how well you really know the people closest to you. It's a very fast-paced read with plenty of tension and some great twists that I didn't see coming. Callum makes for a great lead because he's not a superhero – he’s just a grieving husband out of his depth, which makes the danger feel much more real. There were a couple of moments where the plot felt a little stretched, but that's pretty standard for these types of thrillers and it didn't take away from the enjoyment. It’s a gripping, intense read that kept me hooked until the very end. Many thanks to the author, Boldwood Books and NetGalley for enabling me to read and share my thoughts of this book.

Really enjoyed this - Callum finds out his wife wasn't who he thought she was, and the story is his journey in finding out who she was and why she died. Great read and origin story.